The Cricket Thread 2013

[Villan For Life]

I've been pondering my issue with the England team at the moment, and I think it's that since the first innings of the NZ tour which went horribly wrong we look like a team who is trying to avoid losing rather than forcing a win. I think the tone is set by the top 3 being far too one paced and I think Compton probably needs to go. I also think some of Cook's fields are also very negative. It's something that needs addressing.

With no KP our line up looks solid if unspectacular. KP is the one batsman we have who can change a game in a session. I'm also unconvinced by Compton and if he fails in the second innings I'd move Trott up to open and play Taylor from Notts in place of him. If and when KP is fit he'd be back for Taylor.

Cook's captaincy is in its infancy so I'm prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt; negativity was something that was thrown at Andrew Strauss and he did OK.

[PaulWinch again]

We need to have a long look at our approach and come out all guns blazing today. Enough of this negative approach we need to get back to aggressive winning cricket. The series in NZ and the first day of this series have not been good enough.

[PaulWinch again]

Our running in this game has been really poor, we've missed lots of opportunities for singles.

[PaulWinch again]

Shocking, shocking stuff from England again. Our batting looks pathetically poor at the moment.

[PaulWinch again]

You take Pietersen out of our batting line up and at the moment it looks pretty ordinary. We've had a lot of these low scores lately.

[PaulWinch again]

Well this is good stuff, Broad gone now as well. As I said yesterday if you let a team dictate the play against you the pressure on the middle order becomes too great and this is what happens.

If your run rate is this poor and then you lose a couple of wickets you're pretty much buried, short of a miracle lower order revival.

[PaulWinch again]

It looks like we'll need the bowlers to dig us out of trouble again, but even if they manage that there needs to be a serious look at our batting line up.

[Dave Cooper please]

300 Test wickets for Anderson, only the fourth Englishman to do this.

The fightback is on.

[PaulWinch again]

Good effort Jimmy, but we're being completely out played again. I'm pretty concerned now, approaching 3 and a half Tests against NZ now and we've been outplayed in 2 and a half of them. This simply isn't good enough at all. Finn doesn't look much use at all since they changed his run up he's lost all his pace. Broad looks poor as well.

[PaulWinch again]

Jimmy strikes, he's the only man keeping us in it at the moment. Taylor showed how to play though.

[PaulWinch again]

Come to think of it Broad has never really developed as a bowler, he came onto the scene and look decent and has never pushed on. If anything he's gone backwards, and his batting has dropped off now as well. If Bresnan has found his mojo again, then we should look at him and Tremlett for Finn if Finn can't get his touch back.

[Dave Cooper please]

New Zealand certainly seem to have the mojo over us! They are barely more than a decent County standard but we just can't seem to get going when we play them.

Feck it, bring on the Aussies.

[PaulWinch again]

Finn looked better in the evening because he went back to his longer run up. Personally I'd rather he occasionally hits the stumps with his knee and bowls at good pace, than never hits the stumps with his knee and completely loses his edge.

[PaulWinch again]

That's more like it Broad, pitch it up. MCcullum gone.

[PaulWinch again]

Trott cost a wicket, poor drop.